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  • in reply to: Should my battery be grounded twice? #836884
    RobRob
    Participant

      Yes, you’re engine/trans must be connected to battery negative as well.

      edit –

      Grounding is a terrible term. We’re tying components to the same potential, that is all.

      Suspect battery issue is because alternator isn’t ‘grounded’ to the frame and in turn, battery negative.

      in reply to: P0340 Volvo V40 #836807
      RobRob
      Participant

        Well, you need to find out why it’s not turning. There are two small tangs on the trigger that mate into the exhaust camshaft. These tangs can break off, causing the symptom of a failed camshaft sensor – because the sensor is not seeing the trigger.

        in reply to: P0340 Volvo V40 #836739
        RobRob
        Participant

          Remove the sensor, make sure that the trigger for the sensor rotates when the engine is turning.

          in reply to: Poor mans tune up – Gapping iridium spark plugs? #836641
          RobRob
          Participant

            Thanks for the input guys. It’s all sound advice – if you read my post again you’ll see I already know that this is… not the most sound logic. Really being that the upper intake manifold has to be removed to gain access should be reasoning enough to make me NOT want to get involved in this – but there’s a little pride amongst the cheapskate and curiosity as well that just doesn’t want to leave this stone unturned.

            Having said that, Denso offers instructions on how their website on how to gap iridium plugs.

            http://densoiridium.com/installationguide.php

            I’ll come clean, i’ve already gapped the front 3 plugs and so far no issues. The ‘plan’ will be to leave them on test, and if no issues for a few weeks I’ll swap them to the rear and gap the rears for use in the front.

            What’s life without a little risk?

            in reply to: Electrical issues (Audio) #836639
            RobRob
            Participant

              As I said earlier, not a big fan of integrating aftermarket head units with OEM amps.

              Options:

              A. Jettison the OEM amp, add aftermarket amps as required – 1 for front, 1 for rear doors, 1 for sub / center channel. – Edit, if you love music, this is the route to go.

              B. Buy an IPod and a set of Sennheissers.

              C. Use the power antenna signal from your aftermarket deck to control a relay that powers your OE amplifier.

              in reply to: Electrical issues (Audio) #836637
              RobRob
              Participant

                Ok, after much research – Buick Park Ave is NOT CANbus. However, same model year LeSabre – IS CANbus.

                Your Park Ave doesn’t need a module, a LeSabre would.

                The Park Ave with the 9 speaker setup is an odd duck, most of the major car audio suppliers don’t even support it (Metra, Scosche), meaning there is no wire in place in your aftermarket harness to provide an on/off signal to the factory amp.

                Therefor:

                I believe that without an input from the aftermarket radio to turn off, the factory amp is staying ‘on’, causing the excess parasitic draw.

                With respect to the static it sounds like there is a breakdown in the vehicles harness insulation – possibly a shielding issue, not necessarily an issue but just generally lower quality.

                It would seem the easy and obvious answer is to go back to the factory deck.

                in reply to: Electrical issues (Audio) #836634
                RobRob
                Participant

                  On vehicles with bcm / CANbus control, signal to power and turn off your stereo is NOT managed through a solid state circuit, but through a data input from the body control module.

                  GM’s integration of body control modules / CANbus was not done on a single model year throughout all the brands, it happened piecemeal over generations. By 2004 all GM nearly all models had gone this route. I CANT say for certain your model / year – however in that the factory radio does stay on until a door is opened tends to make me believe yours may be.

                  Now, some questions I should have asked first.

                  DID you install a module for the aftermarket radio? Normally these connect directly to the vehicles factory radio harness and have a loose pigtail harness to connect to the aftermarket radio. The modules are ONLY required for vehicles that utilize CANbus.

                  How are you powering the aftermarket radio if your not using a module? A pigtail that plugs into your factory harness that supplies a postive, switched and ground wire? Are you using a proper antenna adapter to connect the aftermarket deck to the GM cable? Does any part of the the antenna cable or the adapter have metal exposed (if so it should be insulated).

                  The Red wire on the aftermarket radio’s harness is switched ignition – goes to 12V when the key is put in either the ‘on’ or ‘ACC’essory position. The Yellow wire on the aftermarket radio harness is constant 12V from the battery.

                  Now on to the rest.

                  1.3A is excessive parasitic draw. Typically, anything more than 500 mA (.5A) is too high. I would expect the maximum acceptable for your car is 450 mA.

                  in reply to: Honda Civic 2005 oil leak issue #836632
                  RobRob
                  Participant

                    Does the car have an aftermarket alarm installed on it? Could be a starter lockout relay.

                    in reply to: Town & Country Wheel Cylinder Replacement #836631
                    RobRob
                    Participant

                      Maybe try the other new wheel cylinder if the one you’re trying to manipulate doesn’t line up the way you like next time? There’s no way they’re both going to be machined exactly the same.

                      Love the Pay It Forward series, this is definitely my favorite part of ETCG.

                      in reply to: honda fit idle and moderate acceleration hiccup #836629
                      RobRob
                      Participant

                        Sooo sounds like ‘pirate air’ (loose clamps on the intake plenum after the mass air flow sensor?) or dirty mass air flow sensor…

                        in reply to: Honda Civic 2005 oil leak issue #836620
                        RobRob
                        Participant

                          You’ve got battery negative cable off of the battery?

                          There are terminal repair kits on both terminals. It seems fairly clear that the cable has broken away from either the positive or negative post from the repair kits.

                          Closer examination of the broken wire and the back side of the battery terminal repair kits would likely find a match.

                          Find a decent shop and have them make a good quality repair. A car audio shop might be a solution as they generally have access to quality wire crimps and tools that will be necessary .

                          in reply to: Electrical issues (Audio) #836547
                          RobRob
                          Participant

                            I got here a day late it seems. When speakers pulse like that it’s because they’re receiving a pulsed DC signal. I’m not a fan of integrating aftermarket decks with OE amplifiers (see below), but being that you’ve not upgraded the speakers it does kind of make sense in this case (the stock speakers would likely not benefit much from an aftermarket amplifier).

                            Here’s a terrifying question. When is a piece of wire more than just a piece of wire, a positive or negative?

                            When it’s handling communication. 01100011 01110010 01100001 01110000

                            A series of digital signals.

                            Try to locate a switched ignition in a newer (turn of the century plus or minus a couple of years and newer) GM vehicle at the radio harness… there aren’t any.

                            The radio’s receive a CANbus input from the body control module telling them when to turn on and off. That’s why you were supposed to buy that ‘module’ that allows you to connect the switched ignition to your aftermarket deck – the module supplies the switched ignition when it receives the input from the BCM to turn on, and removes it when the BCM says to. Also, If your factory radio stays on with the key in the off position until a door is opened… that’s not done through solid state logic, it’s done via the body control module.

                            What the heck am I driving at? You may have one heck of a time finding a way to switch the amplifier on and off via your aftermarket deck as it too may be looking for a CANbus signal from the body control module or even worse – the factory deck.

                            A relay interrupting B+ at the amp using the power antenna signal from your aftermarket deck might be an option, but I suspect you’ll get even more speaker pulsating when you cycle the key on and off as required.

                            in reply to: Wring Problem #836542
                            RobRob
                            Participant

                              What you should try is a voltage drop test. The currents in the injector circuit are so small that a continuity test isn’t valid. An Oscilloscope would be much better suited to this task, but a quality digital multi meter would suffice (Fluke model 73/77 or 87), the leads must be in excellent condition and good quality as well.

                              Identify the positive (+ve) and negative (-ve) side of the injector at the harness and ECU. Check +ve voltage at the ECU WRT (with respect to) ground, then check +ve voltage at the fuel injectors WRT ground. Then, check the opposite side of the injector WRT -ve (positive lead on the battery positive post, negative lead at the injector). If the values are the same when tested at the ECU as well as at the injector, the circuit is good. If not, the circuit is failing when hot – perhaps corrosion in a connector?

                              If possible, find out what voltage should be at the injectors and check to see if it is low during the fault. Again, corrosion is possible, but its plausible that a transistor (the ‘driver’ for the injector) will function perfectly when cold and yet start to fail/breakdown when there’s heat in circuit – IE failing ECU. You should also consider supply voltage and grounding to the ECU as well.

                              in reply to: 97 Accord Overheat/Coolant Leak/Radiator Vacuum #836538
                              RobRob
                              Participant

                                Its common for water pump leaks to only occur while the engine is running (the shaft is turning on the seal). Easiest way to diagnose this is to pressure test the system while it’s running and at operating temperature – that requires a reasonably expensive tool (cooling system tester, ~$100 or more plus the adapter for your Honda radiator neck). Perhaps you could borrow one from a parts store?

                                The vacuum on the radiator should be pulling the coolant from the overflow back into the radiator… your radiator cap may not be sealing properly as well, or the hose between the radiator neck and the overflow tank may be compromised.

                                in reply to: My first car #836480
                                RobRob
                                Participant

                                  1985 Honda Accord ‘S’. 1.8L 12 valve, teeny tiny carburetor with countless vacuum lines running from it. One owner, 5 speed (if you held it in 5th it had 5 forward gears), manual everything. All mine for the princely sum of $300.00 in the summer of 1991, just 320,000 KM on the dial. It had only minor collision damage from rolling into a tree, mild to severe rust depending on the panel, smelled of German Sheppard and pickles.

                                  Swapped in a set of ’87 CRX buckets, 14″ steel wheels and the factory caps, a universal fit SuperTrapp muffler that worked every bit as well as you think it did and a number of pine scented trees to combat the odor. I spent at least 10 times the purchase price on stereo equipment. Among the many lessons this car provided, I learned bondo, broken bolt extraction, and tetanus shot frequency. Thankfully my Dad (a skilled welder/fitter and more than fair mechanic) was kind enough to share his experience and knowledge.

                                  Each and every day that car was in a state of ‘Mission Readiness’. My only other vehicular experience involved Honda 4 stroke 2 valve air cooled dirt bikes. Anvil reliable, and therefor so should my Honda car be. It had 13 souls in it on a ‘Carload Thursday’ at the drive inn. Countless trips to Washago Beach (the largest freshwater beach in North America) driven by a maniac listening to Metallca at a volume well past ‘clipping’, an AWOL trip to Toronto ON to see Guns’n’Roses with ‘just’ enough gas to get us home and no money for more, a skiing trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec where at the time you couldn’t buy gas for a car with Ontario plates. Never once did it leave me stranded – even the time it stalled – some clown drove it into a large ‘puddle’ during a local flood – water over the door sills once we came to a rest – it had enough heat in it to steam the water out of the distributor cap (screws were broken off in the distributor body, the cap was held in place with a really good elastic) and fire back up just like nothing had happened.

                                  That ladies and gentlemen was a fine automobile.

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